The rapid transportation of cargo has become a necessity in today's society. More and more packages are being sent throughout the country via overnight couriers. One typical way in which the couriers can get packages to faraway destinations in such a short period of time is by aircraft. While airplanes have been used for quite some time to transport cargo, there are some disadvantages associated with loading cargo onto airplanes.
Typically, belt loaders are used to get cargo from the ground level up to the cargo door of an airplane. These belt loaders consist primarily of a conveyor belt that is angled toward the cargo door of the airplane. However, due to repeated damage to airplanes during the loading of cargo resulting from airplanes hitting the belt loaders in response to wind, many couriers require belt loaders to be positioned between 1 to 4 inches from the cargo door. As a result of this requirement, workers loading cargo must reach outside of the cargo door of the airplane to remove cargo from the conveyor belt of the belt loader. In addition to reaching outside of the airplane door, workers must also reach down to pick up the cargo since the cargo is typically positioned slightly lower than the floor level of the airplane. These strenuous repeated movements of reaching out and down for cargo often result in back injuries, particularly in the lower back. In addition to lower back injuries, the position of the belt loader can also result in damage to cargo. As the belt loader is positioned around 4 inches from the cargo door, there are occasions when cargo will come off the conveyor belt and fall to the ground before it can be grabbed by the cargo loader. Moreover, in an effort to position the belt loader closer to the airplane, the belt loader may accidentally hit the airplane, causing damage to both the belt loader and the airplane.